Combined cabinet and clothes rack



Feb. 4, 1941. J. E. BQRAH 2,230,793

COMBINED CABINET AND CLOTHES RACK Filed Nov. 10, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTORL do/i/v f. 5024/1.

BY $02M? ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 4, 1941. .1. 'E. BORAH COMBINED CABINET 4pm CLOTHES MOE 2Sheets-$hev2 1 1104 Nov. 10, 1933 y INVENTOR. JOHN F. 5024 1.

' ATTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 4, i941 PATENT OFFICE COIWBINED CABINET AND CLO'IHIIS RACKJohn E. Borah, Penn Township. St. Joseph County, Ind.

Application November 10, 1938, Serial N 0. 239,774

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to a combined cabinet and clothes rack.

In household laundering, one of the objectionable features is thenecessity for hanging the clothes to dry .on an elongated inconvenientclothesline, usually located out-of-doors or in a basement. A long lineis necessary to give adequate hanging facilities, and the line must beplaced at a substantial and inconvenient height to permit a person topass the line by stooping under the clothes and to permit a person towalk thereunder when not in use. There are many disadvantages to thismethod of drying clothes as commonly appreciated and encountered byhousewives.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide means, convenientand accessible in use, carried by a cabinet, and utilizing a minimumamount of space, for hanging clothes to dry.'

. A further object is to mount in the cabinet of a washing machine,space heater, or the like, a

plurality of normally retracted and concealed elongated elements whichare horizontally extensible to exposed projecting relation to form a .25rack upon which articles of clothing and the like may be hung to dry.

A further object is to. provide an elongated rigid member with amounting carried by a cabinet for slidably supporting said member inselected concealed or projecting relation to the cabinet.

Other objects will be apparent from the description and appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a cabinet having a clothes rack, withcertain of the rack parts shown in extended position in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a modifiedarrangement of cabinet and clothes rack.

Fig. 3 is'a fragmentary vertical sectional view Fig. '7 isafragmentaryview similar to Fig. 6

cabinet.

the like, having front and rear walls H and end walls l2.

A plurality of elongated hollow tubes l5 extend in parallel horizontalrelation between the front and back walls ll of the cabinet at the upper20 end thereof and above the operating mechanism housed in the cabinet.The opposite ends of tubes l5 are internally screw threaded. Athreadedmember [6 passing through a suitable opening inback wall H is threadedin one end of tube I5, 25 said member l6 having an enlarged head ITbearing against wall ll around the opening therein to retain and lockthe rear end of the tube in operative supported relation to said walland to seal said opening. An externally screw threaded 30 tubular'member18 passes through a suitable opening in the front cabinet wall and iscrew threaded in the front end of tube l5, said member l8 having anannular outwardly projecting flange 19 seating against the front wall ofthe 5 Within the tube [5 is mounted an elongated rod 20 having a closebut sliding fit with member l8 and having-an enlargement -2l on itsinner end which has a close but sliding fit within tube l5. A head 22ismounted on the outer end 40 of therod-ZU and normally seats againstflange l9.

A plurality of elongated hollow tubes 25 extend in parallel horizontalrelation between the end wallsl-Z ofithecabinet adjacent the'upper endthereof and adjacentanclperpendicular to tubes having'an.outwardlyprojecting annular flange ,21, pass through said openings andare threaded into theends of tubes 25 to bringflanges 2'! into bearingengagement with the cabinet walls and thus lock the tubes 25 in place.Within each tube 25 is mounted a pair of tubular members 28 each havingan enlargement 29 at its inner end which thereof with members l8.

has a close but sliding fit within tube 25. The outer ends of thetubular members 28 normally terminate within members 26 in inwardlyspaced relation to the adjacent cabinet wall, said members 28 having aclose but sliding fit in members 25. An inwardly projecting annularflange 30 is formed at the outer end of each member 28. A rod 3| fits ineach member 28, having a close but sliding fit in flange 29. The innerend of each rod 3| is enlarged at 32 for a close sliding fit in member28, and the outer end of each rod 30 mounts a head 33 normally bearingagainst annular flange 21.

With this construction, the clothes racks, when in their normalretracted positions illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6, are substantiallyconcealed, do not detract from the appearance of cabinet l0, and do notinterfere with normal use of or access to the device, as washing machineor space heater, enclosed in the cabinet. When the clothes racks are tobe used, they are extended as illustrated in Figs. 5 and '7. The rods 20are extensible for substantially their full lengths, or to an extentsubstantially equal to the spacing of walls Ill. The rods are fully andadequately supported in extended position by the double bearing betweenthe same and parts l8 and between enlargements 2| and tube IS. Theoutward extension of the rods is limited by engagement of enlargements2| The heads 22 form means for conveniently gripping the rods for suchextension.

The other rack units operate in substantially the same manner, exceptthat the projectin portion thereof is substantially twice the length ofthe rod 3|. -When rod 3| is pulled out by means of head 33, theenlargement 32 thereof engages shoulder 30 on the outer end ofintermediate tubular member 28 which may in turn be pulled out until itsenlargement 29 engages member 26. A double bearing for effectivelysupporting each set 25, 28 and 28, 3| of the cooperating parts inhorizontal position when extended is provided by the close fits betweenthe respective enlargements and restrictions on the same time theiraggregate length will be the equivalent of a long clothesline. This canall be accomplished in a very small area or space without interferingwith the normal use of the room in which the device is located.

This invention is susceptible of use in connection with cabinets of manytypes and for many purposes. One of these embodiments is illustrated inFig. 2 wherein the cabinet or housing is open at its top and is closedby a removable cover 40. The units l5 and 25, of the construction abovedescribed, are mounted within a crowned portion of the cover in spacedrelation above the lower open end or margin 4| of the cover which restsupon or engages the top of the cabinet. In this way, the units areremovable with the cover, and do not interfere with access through thetop of the cabinet.

An embodiment especially adapted for use with space heater cabinets isillustrated in Fig. 3.

Here the top of the cabinet is normally open at 45 for heat dischargeand radiation. The units l5 and 25, when spaced just below the top ofthe cabinet, render use of a grill unnecessary, since their location andarrangement permits them to accomplish the same function as a grillwithout detracting from the appearance of the cabinet.

An embodiment especially adapted for use with circular cabinets isillustrated in Fig. 8. In this arrangement, a concentric frame member 48depends from the top of the cabinet to support the inner ends of thetubes l5 of the rack construction illustrated in Fig. 4, theconstruction being otherwise the same as described above.

The modified embodiment illustrated in Fig. 12 is particularlyapplicable to installation of the types illustrated in Figs. 10 nd 11. Ashallow chamber is provided between spaced horizontal parts 55 andclosed at its outer edges by vertical wall 52 having an opening thereinto slidably receive a rod 53 with a close fit. A guide 54 spacedinwardly from wall 52 receives rod 53, and a stop 55 spaced from theinner end of the rod a distance substantially equal to the spacingbetween upper and lower walls 50 and 5|, is adapted to engage guide 54when the rod is outwardly extended. By this construction the number ofparts isreduced to a minimum, the rear projecting end of the rodinsuring proper positioning of the extended rod, though slightly tilted,by its engagement with top 50 when extended and with bottom 5| whenretracted. In the event the guide 54 limits vertical as well ashorizontal movement of the rod, the stop 55 may be placed at the extremeinner end of the rod, as is obvious.

I have illustrated the tubes I5 and 25 and their associated parts asbeing of circular crosssection; but I do not intend to limit myselfthereto, as tubes of square or other cross-section may obviously be usedin the arrangement and relation shown and described.

I claim:

1. The combination with a cabinet having a pair of opposed verticalwalls each having an opening, of an elongated horizontal tube, securingmembers each passing through an opening and mounted within an end ofsaid tube, at least one of said securing members having a passagetherethrough, an elongated member having a close sliding fit in saidlast named securing member, an enlargement on the inner end of saidelongated member having a close sliding fit in said tube, and anenlarged head on the outer end of said elongated member, said head beingpositioned exteriorly of said cabinet and normally positioned adjacentthe outer surface thereof.

2. The combination with a cabinet having opposed openings in horizontalalignment adjacent the upper end thereof, a rigid elongated hollowmember extending between said openings, means for mounting the ends ofsaid member on said cabinet, at least one of said mounting means havinga passage therethrough, a second rigid elongated hollow member slidablewithin said first member, a third elongated member slidable in saidsecond member, means cooperating with said mounting means for limitingoutward sliding of said second member in said first member, means forlimiting outward sliding of said third member in said second member,said last named means cooperating with said members to hold said membersin alignment when extended, and a head on said third member exteriorlyof and normally bearing against said cabinet.

3. The construction defined in claim 2, wherein the means for limitingoutward movement of said members comprises said mounting means and aninwardly projecting element at the outer end of the second member eachhaving a close sliding fit around the second and third members,respectively, and an enlargement on the inner ends of the second andthird members having a close sliding fit in the first and secondmembers, respectively.

4. The combination with a cabinet including a removable cover havingvertical marginal walls, a pair of said walls in opposed relation, eachhaving an opening, of an elongated horizontal tube, securing memberseach passing through an opening and mounted within an end of said tube,at least one of said securing members having a passage therethrough, anelongated member having a close sliding fit in said last named securingmember, an enlargement n the inner end of said elongated member having aclose sliding fit in said tube and an enlarged head on the outer end ofsaid elongated member, said head being positioned exteriorly of saidcabinet and normally positioned adjacent the outer surface thereof.

5. The combination with a cabinet having a pair of opposed Verticalwalls, of a horizontal tube, means for securing the ends of said tube tosaid walls within and adjacent the top of said cabinet, at least one ofsaid walls having an opening communicating with the interior of saidtube, an elongated member slidable within said tube and having a headpositioned outwardly of and normally bearing against the outer surfaceof said cabinet, the securing means adjacent one wall serving to limitthe outward sliding of said elongated member and cooperating with saidtube and member to maintain said member in horizontal position whenextended.

6. The combination with a cabinet having opposed horizontally alignedopenings adjacent the upper end thereof, a horizontal, rigid, elongated,hollow member secured to said cabinet with the ends thereofcommunicating with said openings, a pair of rigid elongated membersslidable within opposite ends of said first member and each having ahead positioned exteriorly of said cabinet, and cooperating meansbetween each of said second members and said first member for limitingopposite outward extension of said second members and maintaining saidmembers in alignment when extended, an element of said lastnamed meansalso serving to secure said hollow member to said cabinet,

'7. The combination with a cabinet having an opening in its top and aplurality of openings in a vertical wall thereof, of 'a plurality oflongitudinally shiftable elongated members each extending through one ofsaid last named openings, and supports within said cabinet each guidingand positioning a member relative to said cabinet, said supportsconstituting a grill spanning said first named opening.

JOHN E. BORAH.

